Forming questions & Using “est-ce-que” Question Words Forming questions & Using “est-ce-que”

French Question Words: Quand …. ? Pourquoi Où Comment Que / quoi Qui Avec qui À quelle heure When … ? Why Where How What Who With whom At what time

First … Different ways to make a question: Statement: Tu joues aux cartes. To make it a question… Tu joues aux cartes ? Tu joues aux cartes, n’est-ce pas ? (...right?) Est-ce que tu joues aux cartes ? (“Is it that”…) Joues-tu aux cartes ?

Focus on “est-ce que”: “Est-ce que” can be tacked on at the beginning of a sentence to indicate a question is coming. “Est-ce que tu joues au basket?” “est-ce que” can also be inserted into the sentence after a question word. “Quand est-ce que tu joues au basket?”

How would you make this statement a question with “est-ce que”? Vous jouez au tennis. Est-ce que vous jouez au tennis ?

Est-ce que – YES/NO questions “Est-ce que” by itself simply turns a statement into a question. Questions that begin with “Est-ce que…” will have “YES / NO” answers. “Est-ce qu’il joue au tennis ?” Oui, il joue ... Non, il ne joue pas …

“Est-ce que” has no real meaning Est-ce que does not carry any true meaning, and is not translated. Literally, est-ce que = “is it that.” (In English, we often include the word “do” or “does” with questions– which doesn’t necessarily carry any additional meaning either, except to make it a question) Est-ce que tu joues au tennis? (“Is it that” you play tennis?) ( Do you play tennis?)

Remember…. It’s the QUESTION FORMAT that you want to translate – not the words used in either language to make it a question. To translate: Do you play tennis? Would you translate the word “DO” ? “Do you…” makes it a question in English …. What would make it a question in French?

“Est-ce que” – with question words (“quand, comment, pourquoi,” etc…) Question words ask for MORE INFORMATION than just “est-ce que” alone. (Need more than a Y/N answer) Question words are followed by “est-ce que,” when the subject comes first in the rest of the sentence. (When the verb comes first in the rest of the sentence – inversion – you don’t need “est-ce que.”)

Examples: Quand est-ce que tu joues au foot? When do (“is it that”) you play soccer? Pourquoi est-ce que tu aimes faire de la photo? Why do you like to do photography? Comment est-ce que tu fais du surf? How do you surf?

C’est à vous! – Translate the changing sentences. Elle danse ! À quelle heure Comment Pourquoi Avec qui Quand Où est-ce qu’ elle danse ? Est-ce qu’elle danse ?

“Qui” (Who) – does not need “est-ce que” (when it’s the subject): Qui joue de la guitare? Who plays guitar?

You don’t need “est-ce que” when the verb directly follows the question word: Où va Paul? Where is Paul going? (“Where goes Paul?”) WITH ÊTRE: Où est mon portable? Where is my cell phone?

Another way to ask a question without est-ce que – Put the question word at the end: Paul va où ? “Paul is going where?” (When the question word is at the end, your voice goes up at the end.)

Contractions with “que” Que changes to qu’ before a vowel. Example: Est-ce que tu fais du sport ?  Est-ce qu’ il fait du sport ?

The question word “What” “What(?)” is expressed in several different ways: Que fait Paul ? (What is Paul doing/making?) *Qu’est-ce que Paul fait ? (What is Paul doing/making?) Paul fait quoi ? (Paul doing/making what?) Il fait le gâteau avec quoi ? (He’s making the cake with what?) ( *Qu’est-ce qui plaît à Paul ? - What is pleasing to Paul ? )

The question word “Who” “Who” doesn’t change: Qui aime Paul ? (Who likes Paul?) Paul aime qui ? (Whom does Paul like?) Paul sort avec qui ? (Paul is going out with whom?)